The 43,000 Year Old Plant

Here we go again, I find myself writing about nature every week. I just can’t get enough of it. I was writing an excerpt for a client, and the Science channel was on the television in the background. I looked up when I heard them talking about a plant that has lived for 43,000 years. I had to stop what I was doing to write this post.

First of all, do you know what was happening on Earth 43,000 years ago? I didn’t. I had to look up a timeline. Apparently, 43,000 years ago was the time when the earliest migration into Europe took place according to mitochondrial DNA. It’s difficult because according to http://www.webfamilytree.com, the dawn of the human species began at least 50,000 years ago but the beginning of recorded history didn’t start until 3,500 B.C.

Is it really possible that there could be a plant that existed during the majority of the evolution thus far of Homo sapiens? I’ve done the research, and it is true.

The Tasmanian King’s Holly Lomatia Tasmanica (Proteaceae) has survived for 43,000 years. This miraculous plant does not reproduce by seeds, and because it is so unusual in so many ways, it is now for the first time, considered an endangered species of plant.

I found this video which explains a bit more about this fascinating specimen of nature: